Tonight

In this 2018 photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is Wisdom, the world's oldest known breeding bird with a chick sits in a nest at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial. Federal wildlife officials say the world's oldest known wild bird has become a mother again at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports the Laysan albatross named Wisdom hatched a chick earlier this month at the remote atoll northwest of Hawaii. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials say Wisdom is at least 68 years old and has raised at least 31 chicks. (Bob Peyton/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)

World's oldest known wild bird hatches chick on Midway Atoll

In this 2018 photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is Wisdom, the world's oldest known breeding bird with a chick sits in a nest at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial. Federal wildlife officials say the world's oldest known wild bird has become a mother again at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports the Laysan albatross named Wisdom hatched a chick earlier this month at the remote atoll northwest of Hawaii. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials say Wisdom is at least 68 years old and has raised at least 31 chicks. (Bob Peyton/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)

HONOLULU (AP) — The oldest known wild bird in the world has become a mother again at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. wildlife officials said.

The Laysan albatross named Wisdom hatched a chick earlier this month at the remote atoll northwest of Hawaii, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Monday.

Wisdom is at least 68 years old and has raised at least 31 chicks, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials said. Wisdom was first banded as an adult in 1956.

Wisdom and her mate, Akeakamai, have been returning to the atoll to lay and hatch eggs since 2006. Laysan albatrosses mate for life and lay one egg per year.

"She's incredibly powerful as a symbol of why we do what we do and why people all over the world pay attention to her," said Beth Flint, a Fish and Wildlife Service biologist. "Wisdom is rewriting history about our understanding of survivorship, how long birds live, and how often they breed."

Albatross parents take turn incubating an egg for about seven months. Chicks fly out to sea about five to six months after hatching. They spend most of their lives flying over the ocean — feeding on squid and fish eggs.

Midway Atoll is home to about 3 million seabirds, including about 1 million albatrosses.

They return to the places of their birth to nest and raise their young, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Subscribe to Breaking News

* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.

"Midway Atoll's habitat doesn't just contain millions of birds, it contains countless generations and families of albatrosses," said Kelly Goodale, biologist at the refuge. "If you can imagine when Wisdom returns home she is likely surrounded by what were once her chicks and potentially their chicks."

Watch this discussion.Stop watching this discussion.

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language.PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated.Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything.Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person.Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts.Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.

Vacation photographs often capture perfect moments in favorite places. Send us your best ones by July 16 for a chance to win up to $1,000 in our Destinations Photo Contest. The top photographs submitted will also be featured in a national publication reaching more than 1 million households.